India decided to bring in Sanju Samson to the ODI fold in the opening match of the South Africa series. Samson, who was benched for the World Cup 2023 would be back in the Indian line-up for the first time since the tour of West Indies.
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India captain KL Rahul named the playing XI and said that Sanju was a name loved by the fans across India. The team also handed a debut cap to the promising Sai Sudarshan, who became a household name in India after his riveting innings in the IPL 2023 final for Gujarat Titans.
“Sai Sudharsan is on debut today. There are a few names that have played a lot of IPL cricket. Ruturaj did well, Tilak seems exciting, Sanju is always exciting. We’ve got Axar, Kuldeep who’d love to see some spin. They know what pressure is and how to handle it. They all come with IPL experience, hopefully, that helps them here and they can perform to the best of their ability,” KL Rahul said at the toss.
The batter revealed that he had not played any cricket since the World Cup 2023 final loss against Australia.
“No (haven’t played since the WC final). Special day, watched a lot of cricket on TV – the Pink ODI is a big occasion here in South Africa. Looking forward to a cracker of a game. There was a of spin and it was try, we’ll try to put pressure on them,” Rahul concluded.
There was no place for India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI, who was also snubbed from the ODI World Cup squad. Kuldeep Yadav was preferred over the spinner as a full time spinner alongside Axar Patel.
India Playing XI
KL Rahul(w/c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
